Post

Hmmmm... thinking. Are workplaces actually measuring Emotional Intelligence (EI)... or just rewarding people who perform "neurotypical vibes"? Our new paper in the Journal of Applied Behavioural Science breaks down why style keeps trumping substance in modern leadership. Hi there @sagepub.com

Prof Maz Hardey

@thatprofmaz.substack.com

18 Sept

The trap: Emotional capability (empathy, self-awareness, deep reasoning) can't be seen directly, so orgs rely on observable behaviours. Over time, "familiar expression" becomes indistinguishable from actual capability. If you don't express EI in the standard way, orgs assume you don't have it.

Prof Maz Hardey

@thatprofmaz.substack.com

Neurodivergence exposes this gap BIG time. In classic thin-slice studies, observers rated autistic speakers worse on video, but when judging the same words on a written transcript, the bias vanished. Evaluating EI by delivery measures performative compliance, not actual emotional intelligence.

18/9/26, 10:06 am0 reposts1 like

Prof Maz Hardey

@thatprofmaz.substack.com

18 Sept

How do we fix it without ditching EI? Strip out buzzwords like "reads the room" or "confident communicator" that quietly mandate a single communication style. We outline 3 concrete fixes to rate genuine emotional reasoning over performative polish.

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